The present invention is directed to a fiber optic connector and, more particularly, to a tunable fiber optic connector.
Tunable fiber optic connectors are known in the telecommunications industry. One such tunable fiber optic connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,018, assigned to Lucent Technologies. The '018 patent discloses a fiber optic connector that can be tuned in the field after the connector has been fully assembled. The '018 patent teaches tuning the fiber optic connector by unseating a multi-faceted holding member and rotating it an incremental amount equal to the angle between two adjacent facets then reseating the holding member. However, none of the prior art tunable fiber optic connectors, including the one disclosed in the '018 patent, provide a fiber optic connector having the ability to tune the ferrule assembly inside the connector housing without having to disengage the ferrule assembly from the alignment system.
It would be desirable to provide a fiber optic connector having the ability to tune the ferrule assembly inside the connector housing without having to disengage the ferrule assembly from the tuning arms.